in brief

The Crown Prosecution Service is tackling institutional racism by devolving
responsibility for diversity from HR to line managers. The move is in response
to the damning Denman Report published in July 2001, which claimed there was a
barrier to ethnic recruitment and promotion due to poor management.

Loud cheer for limits on noise in workplace

Employers groups have welcomed limits to protect employees from noise at
work, to be adopted as part of a new EU directive. The European Parliament had
threatened to impose limits more onerous than those permitted by the Health
& Safety Executive, but has now agreed a compromise after arguments from UK
employers that the limits were unrealistic.

Moves to protect final salary pensions

The Government is to consider union demands to stop companies ending or
diluting final salary pension schemes after a recent KPMG report found many
employees who were being switched to less costly defined-contribution plans
would end up out of pocket.

TUC calls for equality for gays and lesbians

The TUC has called on the Government to extend its plans for lesbian and gay
equality beyond the workplace. It wants discrimination in the provision of
goods and services to be outlawed as well, to cover pension, inheritance and
next-of-kin rights.

Attacking the problem of violence at work

New guidance on how to help prevent violent attacks in the workplace has
been published by the TUC. According to its most recent figures more than 1.3
million people a year are attacked at work, with assaults growing by around 5
per cent a year. It gives advice on how to manage the risk of violence through
training, security measures and workplace redesign.